


Give Me a Try

by irretrishtible



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Library, Canon, Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, Confessions, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Happy Ending, High School, How Do I Tag, Library, M/M, New Year's Kiss, Oikawa Tooru's Knee Injury, Piggyback Ride, Post-it Notes, Volleyball, Volleyball Dorks in Love, but only a little angst because it's me, milk bread, my first Haikyuu fic, petty oikawa, ushioi - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:55:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24337768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irretrishtible/pseuds/irretrishtible
Summary: Oikawa leaves an anonymous note encouraging the next person using the same cubicle to study. To his surprise, a person replies, calling himself “Kaiyo.” They exchange more notes to the point that Oikawa looks forward to going to the library and feels excitement in reading a new one. Just who the heck is Kaiyo?---From the prompt:“Libraries and leaving something.”
Relationships: Oikawa Tooru/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Comments: 21
Kudos: 130





	Give Me a Try

**Author's Note:**

> The title of this fic is based on this [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8GRiiaef3s).
> 
> Come talk to me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/irretrishtible).
> 
> Thanks to NeuroticSlacker on twitter for Beta-ing this fic. To my friend A, thanks for the prompt which got me out of my slump. I took it and ran away.
> 
> This is my first Haikyuu fic please enjoy.

As much as Oikawa values volleyball, he can’t really stay on as a varsity player for Aoba Johsai if he doesn’t keep his grades up. And as the captain, he’s supposed to set a good example for his teammates. He can’t slack off.

That’s why he finds himself studying in Miyagi’s Prefectural Library with Iwaizumi. Not the school library because he wants to distance himself from the hordes of fans the volleyball club seems to have gained in their school. The public library was quieter, with an older crowd using it. Instead of whispered gossips all around, he hears paper rustling and sees pen gliding along notebooks.

It’s a good environment to study in, a good contrast to fast-paced constant high energy motion that is a volleyball match. He opted to be separated from his best friend and chose to be in one of the cubicles with a desk and a drawer. So he hears what’s around him but his attention is on his chemistry book. Or at least, it’s supposed to be.

Just like any other high schooler, of course, he can’t really focus a hundred percent on his readings. He takes out his sticky notepad, the light teal one he found at a novelty store. It’s the same color as his volleyball uniform, forgive him if he indulged a bit.

He writes a note that would hopefully encourage the next person who will use the cubicle.

“ **_I hope you can focus on studying, or whatever it is you’re working on. I’m rooting for you. - Akarui_ **.”

Oikawa doesn’t use his real name to sign the note. He doesn’t know why, he just wants to cheer the next person on - and frankly, he’s a bit bored. Whatever though, as long as it boosts morale.

He opens the drawer on the side of the cubicle and sticks it inside. It’s empty, no one leaves stuff in it, or at least no one ever bothered to check. No one owns a cubicle, it made sense for it to be empty. He slides the drawer shut but it doesn’t seem to fit quite right. The frame doesn’t match the drawer itself, but Oikawa leaves it be, in fear of further ruining it.

Now he overthinks whether or not the note was a good idea in the first place. But it was already there, and it didn’t hurt anyone. He goes back to his book and reads about atoms.

…oOo…

The next Saturday, after their morning practice, Oikawa finds himself pulling Iwaizumi back to the library.

“Do you really need me to go with you, Trashykawa? Can’t you study on your own?” Iwaizumi says, rolling his eyes while Oikawa pulls on his sleeves.

“Iwa-chan,” he says as he lets go of his best friend and puts both his hands on his waist. “Let’s get our homework done, so we can have our Sunday free to watch documentaries.”

Iwaizumi continues to walk towards the library without more prompting, because he’s that kind of best friend. “I’m going to the library with you, but let’s get one thing straight, your primary motivation is not getting homework done. It’s seeing if someone replied to your note.”

“That might be true, but if I get a little homework done after then it’s all okay.” Oikawa replies, falling into step with his friend.

They continue walking and before they know it, the library is within view. “You better treat me to lunch later, receiving practice was harsh on my body.”

“Okay, okay!” Oikawa says.

Their library cards are checked as they pass the entrance. They make their way to their previous spots and Oikawa is glad to find his cubicle free.

Oikawa beelines for it while Iwaizumi goes to the cubicle in front of it.

“Good luck.” Iwaizumi says passively as they both settle down.

He drops his bag to the side and notices that the drawer is closed correctly, the edges are sitting well within the frame. There are many possible reasons for this occurrence plaguing Oikawa’s mind. A person may have just been kind enough to close it properly or someone was intrigued enough to have opened it, saw Oikawa’s note and either ignored it or replied.

Oikawa has no idea why he’s putting so much into this whole thing. The most probable thing to happen is that someone was just annoyed and closed it properly. It’s not like their cubicles are permanent that drawers are useful.

He takes a deep breath, unable to fathom why he’s so nervous to open a stupid drawer. It’s not like anything in the drawer will be life-changing.

He inhales and puts his hand on the handlebar and on an exhale pulls.

There was a reply.

There was a reply!

**_“Thank you. Have a great time studying. - Kaiyo”_ **

Oikawa stops himself from squealing. It’s such a simple reply but it’s managed to make his heart speed up a bit and it’s made up for every serve he didn’t hit perfectly that week. Okay, maybe not the last one, every serve Oikawa hits must be done perfectly.

Kaiyo did not use another sheet to reply but instead wrote on the free space in Oikawa’s sticky note. Oikawa almost missed the reply, but the handwriting contrasted with Oikawa’s so much, it was incredibly written in cursive and stood out.

He digs into his bag and gets his sticky note and chemistry book. He’ll write a note and get back to studying.

“ **Wow! Someone actually read this. Tell me more about yourself :) I’m in high school, a setter for our volleyball club. - Akarui** ”

Oikawa gets back to work after his heart settles. This was exhilarating. Granted, this Kaiyo person only wrote a little but Oikawa feels a connection. Or maybe it’s just him.

…oOo…

Oikawa spends the next week out of commission. After having lunch with Iwaizumi last Saturday, he tripped and sprained his ankle on the way home. If he was gonna be injured he’d rather it be related to volleyball than his own clumsiness added to dumb luck.

He specifically requested for Kageyama to play as setter during their practice game, it doesn’t look good that he won’t be playing the game because of a busted ankle. But what can he do?

It doesn’t matter though, he really wanted to size up his former kouhai. Ultimately, they’ll also have to go through Karasuno if they want to go to Nationals and beat Shiratorizawa.

Oikawa spends the whole week badgering his coach to let him play, and in the end he was allowed to be on the court for the last five or so minutes since he’s able to walk straight again. They end up losing. It’s fine, it might give the other team a false sense of confidence.

Oikawa tries to shrug off the loss as he makes his way towards the library, this time alone. To be honest, he didn’t plan on studying. He just isn’t in the mood. His team should be good enough to beat any other school without him, if they’re not, then has he done his best as a captain?

He gets to the library just fifteen minutes shy of closing. He tells the receptionist that he won’t be long. His real purpose really is just to check for a reply.

Without bothering to get settled, Oikawa opens the drawer and finds a new purple sticky note.

“ **It seems as though you’re using these notes to keep away from your academics. I’m captain of the best boys’ volleyball team in this prefecture. - Kaiyo.** ”

Oikawa smiles, he’s happy he got another reply, although he’s not so happy with the content. He laughs to himself. Although today he did not come to the library to study, Kaiyo doesn’t need to know how true his statement is.

He writes his reply using another sticky note. It’s too long to fit in the remaining free space.

“ **Excuse me, Kaiyo-chan.**

**1\. It takes about three minutes to write one note.**

**2\. Unless you’re me, you couldn’t be the captain of the best boys’ volleyball team in Miyagi. Make it up to me by buying me milk bread.**

**\- Akarui.** ”

 _Who can Kaiyo be?_ He wonders. If he knew the school, then he’d just do a little finagling to find out who it is.

Oikawa makes his way to the stairwell and for the first time he notices a few guys from Nekoma’s Volleyball team around a table on the corner.

They weren’t really friends and he’s a bit exhausted so he does not feel the need to say hello.

As soon as he’s out of the building, a thought occurs to him.

_Is Kaiyo Kuroo?_

…oOo…

It’s the next Wednesday when Oikawa finds himself walking to the library. He didn’t bother asking Iwaizumi to come with him. He knew he was gonna get rejected anyway. In his best friend's words, “I can study at home, Crappykawa.”

Honestly, Oikawa can also study at home instead of the school library if all he wants is to avoid the other students. It’s just that he started the habit of going to the prefecture’s library and is really having fun exchanging notes with this Kaiyo person. It’s pretty exciting to be talking to someone completely unknown to him.

As unknown as can be. He’s the captain of a boy’s volleyball team in Miyagi. Oikawa has spent most of his time thinking of the possible candidates.

Kuroo seems to be most likely since Oikawa has actually seen him in the premises.

Daichi is too in love with Mr. Refreshing to notice anyone else. Not that Oikawa thinks of Kaiyo as a romantic prospect, but Daichi just doesn’t seem like the type to exchange notes with someone else even as friends.

_Is Oikawa thinking of Kaiyo in a romantic way?_

Oikawa shakes his head and thinks of other volleyball captains in the prefecture. He rules out the ladies because Kaiyo specifically stated “boys’ volleyball team.”

_Could it be Bokuto? Isn’t he in love with Akaashi? Poor Bokuto thinks he has a chance with his own vice captain._

There he goes again ruling out people who are romantically taken.

 _Kaiyo can just be as bored as he was when he replied._ Oikawa reminds himself.

He enters the library and goes to the third floor where his cubicle is. Kuroo and Kenma are already seated at the same table. Oikawa guesses it’s their usual table. Kenma is concentrating on his handheld device while Kuroo is staring blankly at a book.

Oikawa proceeds to _his_ cubicle. Yes, he’s claimed it already. He finds it empty and notices that the drawer is closed properly. He never got that to close all the way.

A familiar thrum of excitement runs through his body as he pulls on the chair and sits. He puts down his bag and opens the drawer.

Oikawa is happily surprised at what he sees - half a dozen milk bread in different colored packaging. He gets the milk bread out of the drawer and sees one of them was just manufactured today. This certainly means Kaiyo was just in the library. Oikawa must have missed him.

Kaiyo left a note.

**_“My apologies. I meant no offense. Enjoy your milk bread, Akarui-san. PS: I didn’t know what brand you preferred so I bought one of each in the convenience store. - Kaiyo.”_ **

Oikawa realizes that he did ask Kaiyo to give him milk bread - more like he practically demanded it from the guy. The thought does nothing to stop the warmth spreading onto his cheeks, inevitably making them red. _He didn’t have to get him six_.

His heart flutters. Maybe he does think of Kaiyo as a romantic subject. Which is strange, but makes him weirdly happy.

The thing is, he’s never thought of anyone romantically. Even the persons who were brave enough to confess their feelings for Oikawa never made his heart skip a bit.

And here is a guy, who’s Oikawa has neither seen nor have any clue what he’s like as a person who makes his heart flutter for crying out loud.

 _You know he’s sweet and thoughtful._ A kind voice says in his head.

Before Oikawa gets way in over his head, he takes out his sticky note to thank Kaiyo.

**_“Thank you for the milk bread. My favorite is Yuupan. I forgive you. Anyone who gives me milk bread is halfway to my heart. Is Kaiyo your real name? Akarui is just a random name I thought of when I wrote first. What position do you play? - Akarui. :)”_ **

He feels like the note either sounds too formal or too flirty. So Oikawa adds a smiley face after his name. He debated over the existence of that smiley. The smiley won for reasons.

God, Oikawa does not know how to flirt. He’s never cared before. He’s never worked for anyone’s attention before, and here he is feeling like he should be engaging to keep Kaiyo’s.

He gets his homework done to justify his trip to the library. It took at least thirty minutes to finish and another ten minutes to pack up. He’s careful to put all his snacks without making a lot of noise.

He gets up from his cubicle. He notices that Kuroo and Kenma are no longer at their table. A few tables down is the Karasuno team. It looks like Sugawara is tutoring Kageyama and Hinata, Daichi sitting beside him.

Daichi sees him and gives Oikawa a curt nod which the latter returns.

Oikawa swings his bag to rest on his other shoulder. In his movement he doesn’t notice the person walking into him. They end up colliding.

“I’m very sorry.” Oikawa says as he pulls his bag in for it to stop moving.

“Oikawa-san, are you okay?” A man with a low voice a little too familiar to Oikawa says. A voice always full of condescension when Oikawa hears is now tinged with a hint of worry.

Oikawa looks up to find Ushijima Wakatoshi looking at him with concern. “Maybe I’m not sorry then.” Oikawa walks out because no conversation with Ushijima leads to anything good.

Three other captains from Miyagi are in the library. Now, Oikawa has three candidates for Kaiyo. Actually, two. Ushiwaka does not count.

Kaiyo, who makes his heart flutter without even trying can never be Ushiwaka.

…oOo…

**_“I’m not using my real name. There’s a big chance you may not reply if you knew who I was. I’m a Wing Spiker. - Kaiyo.”_ **

What?

“Hmm,” Iwaizumi hums from over Oikawa’s shoulder, obviously reading with him. “What if it’s Ushijima Wakatoshi?” He raises his eyebrows.

Oikawa stares at him blankly, “No.”

“Well, he’s the only person you’ll never reply to if you found out,” Iwaizumi says in a whisper.

“Or Kaiyo just has self-esteem issues.” Oikawa shrugs. 

He sees Kuroo behind Iwaizumi looking back at them. In a very out of character moment -- or maybe it’s very Oikawa, (who knows, he’s confused) -- he winks at the other captain. To his surprise, Kuroo responds with a flying kiss. Oikawa just smiles at him.

What just happened?

Iwaizumi sees the whole exchange and says, “If Kaiyo has low self-esteem, then it’s not Kuroo, obviously.”

“We can’t rule him out,” Oikawa declares.

With a scrunched up face, Iwaizumi says, “Do you want it to be Kuroo?”

“I don’t know,” Oikawa answers honestly. “Let’s just get our homework done so we can focus on practice. We’re playing Kageyama.”

“We’re playing Karasuno, you idiot.” Iwaizumi smacks his head. “Not just Kageyama. You need to realize that so we can beat them and then Shiratorizawa.”

“Okay, okay, Iwa-chan” he says, prolonging the honorific.

Iwaizumi gets back to his own cubicle while Oikawa writes his reply.

**_“Why not? I think I have an idea who you might be and I won't be opposed to talking to you in person. - Akarui.”_ **

Oikawa tries his best not to dwell on the issue of Kaiyo’s identity, although there’s a big chance it’s Kuroo.

_Both the fake and real names start with a “K.”_

Oikawa knows he’s grasping at straws but whatever. He decides to focus on his homework, only occasionally distracted by looks from Kuroo.

…oOo…

They lose, devastatingly so.

The team entered the arena with much confidence, ready for their year. This year they’ll go to Nationals.

The third years are not quite ready to retire their uniforms yet, then suddenly, the team fails to make a connection, their opponent scores, and it’s their last game of their high school careers.

As a captain, he needs to remain strong. Oikawa leads his team towards the net and each one of them shakes their counterpart’s hands. It didn’t matter which team beat them, it can be any team and the loss will remain heavy on Oikawa’s shoulders.

Upon turning back to go to the locker room to change, he sees Iwaizumi silently crying and unmoving. He gives his vice captain a slap in the back. “Get it together,” Oikawa says in a low voice although the message was more for himself.

The team gathers in the locker room, each and every one of them sad, even the first years who weren’t even in the game. 

“We did our best. That’s all we ever can do,” he starts his speech. “It was a good game, and we did give them a fight.” He’s proud of the way he’s keeping his emotions in check, not letting any hint of sorrow slip through. “As captain, I am proud of the way we played. There are a lot of areas to improve on, but we’ll get it next time,” he finishes, perfectly knowing there is no next time for him or any of the other graduating students.

Everyone wipes away the grime from the game along with their tears and packs their bags. Oikawa does not want to ride with them back to school. He’d rather ride the train on his own. He’s afraid that his emotions are going to catch up with him at any time and his team absolutely cannot see their captain cry. He needs to be strong.

“Iwa-chan,” he taps Iwaizumi’s shoulders. “I’m going back alone, I just have some stuff to fix.”

Iwaizumi just nods. His eyes are still a bit red from all the crying but he carries on and leads the team to their bus.

Oikawa is grateful for how considerate his best friend is. He heads on out to the back of the arena where there are benches but likely no people around.

He puts his bag down and takes a seat on one of the benches. As if on cue, his tears started falling and the entire game replayed inside his head. If only he didn’t miss a serve, or if he read the block correctly then maybe they could have turned it around.

His team lost because of his mistakes. Why is he even captain? Three years and not once have they been to Nationals. Three years of hard work plus all his training during middle school and he couldn’t even be better. He’s the setter for goodness’ sake - he’s supposed to bring out the best in his teammates. Surely, that game was not their best, and it’s all his fucking fault.

Before Oikawa’s thoughts turn more dour, he feels someone nearing him. He wipes his cheeks and blinks the tears away.

“Oikawa-san?”

Oikawa looks up from where he’s seated just to see Ushijima standing a few paces from him. “Here to tell me I should’ve gone to Shiratorizawa, Ushiwaka?” he says, mustering up all the pettiness he can. “Well, it’s too late for that, isn’t it?”

“No, I’m here to comfort you,” Ushijima takes a tentative step forward and Oikawa does nothing to stop him.

Oikawa scoffs, “How and why would you do that?” he raises his eyebrows.

Ushijima retrieves something from his left pocket and hands it to Oikawa. Oikawa does not take whatever it is, because _why is Ushiwaka even being nice to him?_

Ushijima ends up putting it beside Oikawa instead. Oikawa looks out of curiosity and sees that it’s his favorite kind of milk bread.

Oikawa is a bit impressed, but mostly confused. “Why?”

Ushijima’s ears turn red as Oikawa stares at him, “Why?” he repeats. Oikawa throws daggers with his looks. He’s baffled by the fact that his nemesis is standing in front of him baring his favorite. _Does it have poison?_

“I love you, Oikawa-san,” he confesses.

“What the fuck?” Oikawa answers, leaning back on the bench and putting his arms up signalling the other to stop moving. He did not see that one coming.

“I’ve always admired you and my teammates told me that I am unable to communicate my feelings very well. So I’m starting by trying to comfort you.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Oikawa questions. “You don’t know how to communicate your feelings so you brought milk bread for me - to comfort me? You were so sure my team was gonna lose?” Affronted, Oikawa raises his eyebrows looking at Ushijima as if that alone can kill him.

There’s panic in Ushijima’s eyes and he’s about to explain when Oikawa stops him. “I don’t even want to be friends with you, Ushiwaka.” Oikawa crosses his arms over his chest and looks away.

It takes a while before Ushijima speaks, “My apologies, I won’t bother you again,” palpably sorrow in his voice as he turns around and walks away.

Oikawa is once again left with his own thoughts.

…oOo…

It's been two weeks since the game when Oikawa goes back to the library. To be completely honest, he didn’t know what to expect although he hoped a message from Kaiyo was waiting for him. He brought chocolates with him, to leave with the notes as a sort of payback.

There’s no note when he opens the drawer and Oikawa feels crushed. Has he really put so much value on Kaiyo's notes? He looks down again and sees that the last note is really from Akarui.

He gets his stickies and starts writing.

**_“Hey Kaiyo-chan, I hope you’re okay. You haven’t replied in a while. Maybe whatever project you’re working on was already finished, huh? I get it, our season was suddenly over a couple of weeks ago. Maybe you’re not even going to the library anymore. - Akarui.”_ **

He doesn’t leave the chocolates with the note because Kaiyo might not even get them. He’s no longer in the mood to study so he gets out of the library after placing the note in the drawer.

…oOo…

On the last day of classes before winter break, Oikawa heads back to the library. He won’t be going during the break so might as well go now.

It’s been nine whole days since his last note, surely Kaiyo has replied?

.

_He hasn’t._

.

Why the fuck is this fact rubbing Oikawa the wrong way? Why does he even want a reply from a stranger who he has nothing in common with other than the fact that they both play volleyball? Why is he putting so much value in this whole exchange?

And why is he getting his stickies out to write another reply?

**_“So my best friend bailed on me. We were supposed to go to the Yoyogi Shrine for our New Year’s wish on hatsumode. Maybe you’d like to go with me in the morning? I’ll be in View Deck 1 wearing a yellow coat. Call me by ‘Akarui’ so I know it’s you. - Akarui.”_ **

That’s the last note he’ll ever leave. He won’t deny that there’s a big part of him that wants to meet Kaiyo and know why he suddenly stopped replying.

Iwaizumi insists that Kaiyo may have just stopped going to the library altogether, but something in Oikawa’s gut tells him there’s a much bigger reason.

If he meets Kaiyo, or Kaiyo replies then great. If he doesn’t, well then Oikawa can just get back to the library as soon as it opens after the holiday and throw all the notes away.

At least he can say he tried.

…oOo…

Iwaizumi didn’t actually bail on Oikawa. It’s just that this is the last Christmas he’ll be spending with his family before he goes to college and they all wanted to spend it with his grandparents.

This means Oikawa is alone during winter break as he doesn’t really go out much. He busies himself watching space documentaries and teaching his nephew, Takeru, how to serve.

He gets really worried during the quiet moments though, when certain thoughts come out of nowhere.

He’s reminded of the loss from Karasuno which he’s already over. He’ll go pro anyway, there are a few teams scouting him and that was always the dream. It’s just inevitable that after that thought comes Ushiwaka’s confession.

Ushiwaka is in love with him. The mature side of Oikawa deems his reply wasn’t the best but the petty side wins over when it reasons that Ushiwaka never treated him well so he deserves it.

“I’ve always admired you.” Those were Ushiwaka’s words. Of course Oikawa is very admirable, he just never thought that such feelings would come from his sworn nemesis.

Ushiwaka really did have a crappy way of showing he’s in love if it were true.

He didn’t look like he was playing any kind of game when he confessed.

Oikawa pushes those thoughts away. They didn’t matter. 

They shouldn’t matter.

…oOo…

On New Year’s Day, Oikawa wakes up bright and early. He does his morning routine and gets his favorite yellow coat and wears it. He says goodbye to his parents and starts the trek towards the view deck.

The sun is shining brightly but the weather is cold, and a slight shiver runs down Oikawa’s spine. The energy he exerts in walking keeps him warm.

He’s slightly nervous; he didn’t really give himself the chance to think things through. He’d just go with whatever, he’d wait until noon then head up to the Shrine.

Of course he wants to know who Kaiyo is, but if he doesn’t get to find out today, then he’ll be a happy memory he’d keep.

...oOo...

Before Oikawa knows it, he arrives at the view deck.

The usual New Year’s crowd is present, but it’s manageable.

Oikawa walks to the edge to admire the view of the prefecture. This may well be the last time he gets to do this before he heads off to college then eventually Pro-Volleyball. He takes it all in, memorizing the streets he’s spent the first few years of his life. He relaxes and for a minute he forgets the meeting he has.

He turns around and leans on the ledge, elbows resting on top of it. He spots Kuroo and Kenma on the base of the staircase towards the Shrine. Both seem to be in conversation.

So, he’s right all along? Kaiyo is Kuroo?

Kuroo still hasn’t spotted him even with his bright coat so Oikawa walks over to them.

“Hi Kaiyo,” he smiles at Kuroo, “Kenma,” he nods at Kenma who was giving him a confused look.

“It’s Kuroo, Oikawa.” Lines formed on Kuroo’s forehead and Kenma stifles a giggle. “We’ve been playing each other for years and you don’t even know my name.”

Oikawa is left puzzled. Kuroo is the best candidate for Kaiyo. Aside, aside from the K-initial theory, he hasn’t seen Kuroo in the library when the replies stopped. “Aren’t you Kaiyo?” he tries again.

“It’s Kuroo,” the spiker repeats.

“I know that,” Oikawa says, frustration leaking out of him. “It’s just,” he thinks of a way to explain the situation without divulging the whole thing. “Forget it,” he says instead. “I’m sorry for the mix-up. Happy new year to both of you.” Oikawa gives them a cheery smile and doesn’t wait for their reply before he turns around to look for a conspicuous place to sit.

There are logs he deems good enough to sit on. The shadow of the trees provide him with shade but he’ll be seen by Kaiyo if he ever does come.

Who the fuck is Kaiyo then?

He reminds himself not to stress out, that he’s here to visit the Shrine with or without meeting Kaiyo. But God he hopes he does.

His phone serves as entertainment as he reads funny tweets and memes.

After thirty minutes or so of mindlessly scrolling and not finding anything new, a pair of sneakers come to his view, only partly obscured by his phone.

“Akarui-san,” a voice says.

Oikawa almost drops his phone in shock as he looks up to see the last person he expected. “Ushiwaka.”

“Happy New Year,” Ushijima greets him. He’s wearing a blue overcoat and has kept his hands in his pockets.

“What are you doing here?” Oikawa says, the fact that he was called ‘Akarui’ is still not registering.

“I went to accompany you to the Shrine,” he says matter-of-factly.

“You’re Kaiyo?” Oikawa asks in disbelief.

Ushijima nods, “Yes.”

“You’re Kaiyo? How are you Kaiyo? Why did you stop replying?” Oikawa stands up so he can be level with Ushijima.

“I told you I’d stop bothering you.” There’s a sadness in Ushijima’s voice that Oikawa does not understand. Ushijima has always been so confident and here he is, in front of Oikawa, hesitating and unsure.

“Why are you here then?” Oikawa asks. His tone is condescending but he really wanted to know. Did he have that effect on Ushijima?

Ushijima looks down and away from Oikawa. 

_He’s shy_ , Oikawa notes.

“Against the advice of Tendou and Semi, I went here because I couldn’t stand the thought of you waiting for nothing,” Ushijima glances at him.

Oikawa’s setter instincts means he’s aware of everyone around him, and right now he’s conscious of the way Ushijima is hiding his hands in his pockets so as to not show Oikawa he’s fidgety.

“You said you won’t bother me anymore,” Oikawa states, not really looking for a reply just putting his thoughts into words.

“Figured if you wanted me to leave, you’d tell me.”

Oikawa nods in agreement, “Well, since you’re here, wanna climb to the top together?”

…oOo…

A thousand steps up the shrine is not good for Oikawa’s knee. He tries to hide his pain by walking like he normally does, or so he thinks.

“Are you okay, Oikawa-san?” Ushijima says from beside him.

Oikawa runs his hands over the fortunes before picking one, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Is your knee acting up?”

Oikawa stills, “How did you know?”

Ushijima looks at him for a moment, “That was a long climb and you’re favoring your left foot.”

“I’m okay, I can still walk, I’ll just ice it later,” Oikawa waves him off.

“Alright.” Ushijima nods and picks his own fortune.

After a few minutes of silence, both of them saying their prayers and writing their wishes, they both get ready to go back down. They don’t really talk to each other much, Oikawa still processing the fact that it’s Ushijima.

“Do you want me to carry you down?” Ushijima asks, his face burning either from embarrassment or the cold.

“Ushiwaka, I know you’re strong and all but no. My wish won’t come true if I don’t walk down myself,” Oikawa says, feeling superstitious and knowing he can’t take being that close to Ushijima yet.

“As you wish.” Ushijima then proceeds to the staircase and takes one step ahead of Oikawa.

Ten steps down and Oikawa is already gripping the handrails with both his hands. His knee hurts and he needs to support his weight.

“If you’re gonna be stubborn and really walk all the way down, might as well take my hand so you won’t be twisting your torso,” Ushijima reaches out a hand to Oikawa.

“Fine,” Oikawa says and takes Ushijima’s hand. For support. Yeah, just for support.

They take the stairs in silence, Oikawa noticing that the hottest part of him was that which was touching Ushijima. He ignores the part where their hands fit perfectly and that maybe to passersby they were just holding hands. He ignores it because he will combust if he starts paying attention to details like that.

Oikawa retracts his hand as soon as they reach the bottom. “Thank you,” he says.

Now this is the part where they should be saying goodbye to each other. The meeting is over and done and maybe they should wish each other a happy new year. Ushijima suddenly speaks, “I’d like to walk you home, if that’s alright?” 

“Why?” Oikawa asks. Ushijima didn’t have to and there was no need to.

“I want to make sure you get home safe, especially since your knee is acting up.”

“Alright,” Oikawa replies surprisingly fast. “My house is that way,” he says pointing to a pathway towards the north.

Before he begins walking, Ushijima turns his back to him and crouches down. “Get on my back,” he says.

“What?” Oikawa asks and he’s really getting tired of asking Ushijima questions, but that’s always his first instinct.

“I’ll give you a piggyback ride to your house.”

Oikawa climbs over his back and just stops questioning. He wraps his arms around Ushijima’s shoulders while Ushijima secures him by holding on to his thighs.

Ushijima smells like Lavender and Oikawa hates himself for noticing. What is Ushijima doing smelling like flowers anyway?

Ushijima starts walking, occasionally hoisting Oikawa up to get a better grip.

“Why?” Oikawa asks for the umpteenth time that day. It embodies all his uncertainties that he can’t really voice out anymore. _Why is Ushijima here? Why is he so adamant on making sure Oikawa is okay, Oikawa is safe? Why?_

“I think I’ve made my feelings quite clear to you,” Ushijima says, and Oikawa feels the rumble in his chest as he speaks.

“Why? I’ve always been mean to you,” Oikawa says softly while pointing to the corner where they should make a turn.

“I’ve always admired your skills. You’re always surrounded by people who are laughing with you and you keep drawing more and more people in. And you give your all to everything you set your mind to. I can tell you’re a thoughtful captain too. I know you never want your teammates seeing you after a loss.”

Oikawa wonders how Ushijima knew all these things about him when they haven’t even talked outside of today aside from the jabs they make before games.

After a few more minutes of walking in silence, they finally reach Oikawa’s home. “This is me,” Oikawa says.

Ushijima gently sets him down and Oikawa takes stock of himself. His knee is a bit better but he’ll still have to ice it. “Thank you, Ushiwaka.”

“Do you really love me?” Oikawa whispers with Ushijima’s back still turned.

“Of course.” Ushijima faces him, “I wouldn’t have said it if I wasn’t sure.”

Oikawa smirks, “Prove it.”

Ushijima puts his hands back in his pockets, “Do you want me to buy you more milk bread?” he says genuinely.

Oikawa giggles, “What?”

“In your note, you said that milk bread gets me halfway to your heart,” Ushijima says, a mild panic in his eyes.

Oikawa shakes his head, that isn’t exactly what he was thinking when he challenged Ushijima. “Isn’t there something you can do now?” he crosses his arms over his chest. “We’re not exactly near any konbini.”

Ushijima tilts his head as he’s thinking. Oikawa finds it cute. 

_Oikawa is in a universe where he finds Ushijima cute?_

“Come on, Ushiwaka,” Oikawa taps his foot impatiently, “Something you’ve wanted to do since you realized you have feelings for me.”

“Hold your hands,” Ushijima answers immediately. He looks away as if what he said was too vile for Oikawa.

“That’s it?”

Ushijima's ears turn red, “It’s inappropriate,” he responds while continuing to walk.

“Alright, I’m glad you’re safe, Oikawa-san. I’ll go now,” Ushijima smiles and turns to leave. “Goodbye, Akarui.”

Ushijima starts briskly walking away before Oikawa can even reply. “Ushiwaka, I’ll let you hold my hand,” he says loudly and runs towards Ushijima.

Oikawa catches up to Ushijima who turns around and says, “Don’t strain your knee.”

They are only three doors down from Oikawa’s home and there’s already a throbbing in Oikawa’s knee but he doesn’t mind. “I’ll let you hold my hand,” he repeats.

“Thank you,” Ushijima says, his eyes flickering down towards Oikawa’s free hands. “I have to go.”

“Do you have an errand or something?” Oikawa says. Here he is offering to Ushijima what he wants and the latter is rejecting him.

“Oikawa-san,” Ushijima says with the patience of a mother teaching his son the alphabet. “That’s just one of the things I’d like to do with you. However, I don’t want to start anything which may be nothing tomorrow. So thank you, but I’ll just go and I won’t bother you anymore.”

“Ushiwaka, I’m trying, okay?” Oikawa says, looking directly into Ushijima’s eyes. “I’m sorry for saying that I don’t want to be friends with you.”

“It’s okay,” Ushijima replies quietly.

“We’re not in the same place right now,” Oikawa refers to their feelings, “but I’d really like to try.” He takes a step closer to his archnemesis. “So, for the third time, I’ll let you hold my hand.”

“Are you sure?” Ushijima takes both his hands out of his pockets.

Oikawa raises his left hand, palms up in front of Ushijima in answer.

Ushijima gingerly reaches out, his hold more tentative than when they were going down from the shrine.

Oikawa grasps his hand tightly, to show Ushijima that there is no hesitation on his part, “Is this one of the appropriate acts you wanted to do?”

Ushijima just nods, looking at their joined hands.

Oikawa grows a little impatient so he pulls Ushijima in and places his free hand on his shoulders, “I’m gonna kiss you, okay?” Oikawa asks.

Ushijima closes the gap instead of answering and their lips meet in quiet solace. Oikawa doesn’t think of anything else but being in that moment with Ushijima, not daring to let go of his hands. He realizes he wanted more of this too. It’s a short kiss, a short sweet kiss with a promise of many more to come.

“I’ve been wanting to kiss you for three years, Oikawa-san,” Ushijima says.

Oikawa just smiles at him, “You should really call me ‘Tooru’ since we’re dating now, Wakatoshi.”

Ushijima’s hold tightens, “We’re dating?”

“Well, you haven’t asked me out but I guess we are,” Oikawa declares, holding up their intertwined fingers.

“Tooru, will you go out with me?”

Oikawa nods, willing to give Ushijima a shot. Willing to start fresh and give them a try. After all, he’s already halfway to his heart.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read :))) Kudos, comments and constructive feedback are always appreciated. This is also my first enemies to lovers fic and I hope I did it justice.
> 
> Stay safe and sane.
> 
> UshiOi Rise! Come yell at me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/irretrishtible).
> 
> PS: If you liked it, please retweet this


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